Appendicitis is the most common abdominal emergency, accounting for thousands of hospital admissions across South Africa annually. Every individual has a 7% to 8% lifetime chance of developing the condition, the management and treatment of which remains surgery.

As Sean Hanekom approached the end of Stage 3 of the 2013 Absa Cape Epic, he felt a sharp pain on his arm. It was a bee sting, which for most riders would have been no more than a minor irritation. For Sean, however, it was something far more serious.